Board of Deputies urges cancellation of Nazi memorabilia auction

The Board of Deputies has urged a UK auction house to remove hundreds of pieces of Nazi memorabilia from sale, describing their auctioning off as “sinister and deeply concerning”.

Gilbert Baitson, an auction house in Hull, has been advertising almost 250 lots in its “auction of Third Reich memorabilia”. The lots include numerous Nazi party, Hitler Youth and SS badges, as well as a sonnenkrieg [sun wheel] insignia around a swatika. While some of the lots are either for items predating the Nazi era or are innocuous, such as German road sign badges from the 1930s, most contain swastikas and are actively linked to the Nazi party.

Gilbert Baitson’s website homepage describes how the company has conducted “more than 9,000 auction sales” since its establishment 90 years ago, “including Herr Himmler’s spectacles”. Heinrich Himmler was the chief of the SS and a key implementer of the Nazi “final solution”.

While a number of the lots have not received any bids, others have clearly excited some interest, with a “German Spanish Cross with swords”, featuring a prominent swastika, currently having reached a bid of £650. There has similarly been active interest in the purchase of many of the Nazi, SS and SA badges, with bids having been placed. The auction is due to end on 1 September.

The Board confirmed that it had contacted the auction house requesting that they reconsider the sale of the items. Andrew Gilbert, vice president of the Board, said: “There is no good reason people should be bidding on Nazi pocket knives, SS skull insignias, and Hitler Youth membership badges. The buying and selling of these items has no place in our society and, in the context of rising far-right antisemitism, is sinister and deeply concerning.

“We strongly urge Gilbert Baitson to withdraw these items from auction, as have other auction houses such as McTear’s, Bloomfield Auctions, and Vermot de Pas. We also urge the government to ban the sale of such items entirely.”

In February, McTear’s auction house in Glasgow pledged to no longer sell Nazi and SS artefacts, having sold a number of such items that month. Back in 2019, Bloomfield Auctions cancelled a planned sale of Nazi memorabilia after condemnation from local Jewish leaders.

Gilbert Baitson has been contacted for comment.